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Biotech / Medical : Biotech News -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scott_jiminez who wrote (137)	7/3/2000 8:18:05 PM
From: Miljenko Zuanic	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7143

<<And it should be obvious that a shareholder's perspective is JUST a bit inappropriate on this issue, don't you think? >> As biotech comps investor I may be biased toward objective view of the drugs price policy. However, I do not think that it is a case. Definitely I do not agree with pharmas and bios practice in conducting some of the business aspects (setting the drug price for instance), but I will not use public sentiment as political tools for attack , as Gore did for oil and drug price. It is true that some new Rx drug are very expensive, but how much are they OVER-PRICED is something to think about. As long as overall healthcare cost rise the drug price (which do have positive impact on healthcare cost) should and will rise as well. Politicians and bureaucrats should not be allowed to control economic of the pharmaceuticals and healthcare system. <<But the pharmas continue to claim 10 years/$500 million...even though much of that is OUR (i.e. citizen) time and money. >> This is overblown statement. Cost of drug development will continue to rise. Cost of doing R&D. Also, candidates failure contribute significantly here. Citizens money for University and Medical Institutes R&D activity contribute to innovations and scientific discovery, but this infos are available to all parties world-wide (unless it is sponsored by comps). Discoveries are awarded with patent license fee and royalty, collaboration fee, sponsored research,…. Benefit from personal and individuals education and knowledge, training and specialization, next generation scientists: MDs, PhDs , like you are,…are far more important for all of as CITIZENs than pharmas and bios may benefit (and charge as for that). Progress is hard to value by $$$, but it is obvious. Today we will not have quantum loop in biotech if there was no big $$$ investment, from private and government source. Investment form industry itself was very large. If someone did dictate pharma-industry profit 10 years ago, I am very positive that today we will be at least 5-10 years behind. In one hand we are demanding new and better drugs (cure for diseases), but when it come to cost issue we are not willing to pay price. I am not an-ethical, but I am for you got what you pay for it. Financial risk in developing of the new drugs is much higher than anywhere else. My raff numbers are that total R&D expenditure in US are ~$50 B, while total pharma market is ~160B (I am not sure that am close to reality here). There is no business sector which invest 25-30% of gross revenue in R&D. Recent few years rise in Rx drug cost, an-proportional to inflation, is part of the introduced new and better drugs (which have premium in price) as well as faster rise in generic drug price (compared to rise in price for marketed brand drugs). Few years back generic cost ~50-70% of the brand name, while today they are close to 90%. One way to deal with cost of drug price, imo, is further and longer patent protection as well as moving to OTC market. Let micro- and macro-economic factors dictate drug cost and overall profit in pharma-industry (go to hospital and see what they charge for two Tylenol pills), not government bureaucrats. They should adapt Medicare and healthcare (care for older and those who can’t afford today cost) system to accommodate economic environment, not wise versa. Rise the competition standards (award winners and do not help looser), as a main progress factor. Bureaucrats tend to average, and it is path to stagnation. A biased investor, Miljenko BTW, FDA (as government agency) does comments on proposed drug market price.